Just bought a new house and noticed a constant drip from the drain pipe from the second story. It is a steady drip and I do not remember seeing this at my old house (maybe since it was a 1 story it drained somewhere else?)

Is this normal or something I need to get checked out.

Overflow, get this checked out, this only should be happening when your main condensation line is blocked.

"When the government fears the people, you have liberty; when the people fear the government, you have tyranny." Thomas Jefferson
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Edmund Burke

is this something I can do myself or call someone.

It's free and quick to climb up there and have a look around to see what the problem is. If it's new construction I'd want to make sure the a/c is level. This is something that I'd think warranty should cover since it's new construction.

Find out where the main drain leads (could be outside, could be to a bathroom sink). That line is clogged somehow. Find the clog and remove it. You don't want that drip; that's a sign of a problem.

It happened to me when I move in to my house (foreclosure). The clog was in my master bathroom sink drain. There was a flexible line leading directly to my sink that was clogged with bacteria/algea from the years. Instead of cleaning it, I just got a new $4 pipe and replaced it. Problem solved.

not new construction just a new home for me, built in 2004.

you can do this yourself...your primary drain line is probably clogged and the secondary is doing its job.

There will be a 1" PVC drain pipe running out of your handler that has a pipe sticking straight up, with a cap on it. It is usually able to be pulled out of the pipe to expose the line. If you have an air compressor, shoot some air down through it to loosen things up and then pour cup or two of bleach down it to help clean it out a bit.

http://www.todayshomeowner.com/video/how-to-clean-an-ac-condensation-drain-line/

if no air compressor just put bleach water down it and if it doesn't fix it call someone?

FYI if you look under your bathroom sink, you should see a line coming out from the wall and into the sink drain - this is your primary drain (the one that is clogged). The secondary drain goes outside as you have seen to let you know it is working and that your primary is clogged.

My first house had its primary clog right at about the 10 year mark too - very normal.

spend $30 on a snake like device to manually run it down to unclog. You won't need anything strong - maybe coat hanger would work even, depending on how far away the clog is.

Those metal tape like devices electricians use to run wire through walls might even work?

I guess it is a little much to expect and inspector to notice this? It has been a week.

if the secondary line was dripping - definitely should have noticed. There is a chance the line out side IS your primary, which is why I suggest looking under bathroom sink to identify the primary.

My 2 handlers are the in attic. Each has a primary line that goes down into guest bath sink. Both handler lie in a pan with about a 2-inch lip around it to collect any other leaks...there is a PVC pipe running out the side of this, outside under the roof line to drain outside - this is the secondary line. I also happen to have a switch that sits in the pan to where is both get backed up, it will cut power to handler.

you could go jenna jameson on it yourself, but your pride might get in the way a little.

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if the secondary line was dripping - definitely should have noticed. There is a chance the line out side IS your primary, which is why I suggest looking under bathroom sink to identify the primary.

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This +1

Might just be your normal drip line. Is the pan wet under the A/C?

It could be the primary line b/c the under sink drain line did not appear until the late 90's.

How old is the house?

Also, an AC guy told me he gets calls on this all the time and said to dump at least 2-cups of bleach, then 1-2 gallons of warm water down the line every few months.

I haven't been up to check on it, I noticed it yesterday when i was mowing the lawn, I'll be up there tonight.

house was built in 2004.

[This message has been edited by Aggie_Eric98 (edited 8/12/2013 1:01p).]

2004 means it should be draining to the sink. Check the sinks upstairs. One (or more if you have 2 units) should have a hose connection in the side of the trap like the photo above.

If't is draining outside its the overflow, which means the main line is clogged.

may be a stupid question, but if I have 2 units does that mean I have 2 main drain lines, but only 1 overflow? Should I try and clear both lines just to make sure I get the correct one?

OK, IGNORE everyone that says this is normal. IF you have water dripping out of a pipe on the outside of your house something is wrong. That is why they put these pipe in visible locations i.e. above windows. If that line is dripping the main line is clogged. Be careful blowing it out because you can blow out the pvc connections.

Now fix wise there is lots of good info.

"When the government fears the people, you have liberty; when the people fear the government, you have tyranny." Thomas Jefferson
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Edmund Burke

if I where to put Drain-o down the pipes followed by hot water, is that going to do any good or does it need to be "blown out"

Drano in that kind of line is scary. I wasn't telling you not to blow it out with air, but rather to be smart when doing it. Do what you can but don't crank it up to 200 psi or anything. The bleach method is probably the best bet if the blowout does not work easily.

"When the government fears the people, you have liberty; when the people fear the government, you have tyranny." Thomas Jefferson
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Edmund Burke

the bleach is not really to unclog anything - that is what the air movement/snake is for. The bleach is more a preventative measure.

I would bet for some clogs a good dose of bleach and hot/warm water might loosen what is there to make subsequent bleach treatments more effective.

FYI - I believe both my units in attic go to one primary drain line under sink

ok, i just dont have access to a air compressor, i may be able to borrow one from my FIL

Sounds like a perfect time to invest in an air compressor to me.

Go up in the attic, there will be two drain lines, one going from the emergency pan to outside where it is currently draining and the primary drain going from the unit to the sewer system somewhere. After you've turned off your unit pull the main drain line off, there's usually a coupling that is not glued. Blow the line out, you don't need compressed air or anything fancy, just cup your hand around it so your mouth doesn't touch and blow. 99% of the time that will clear out the clog. Pour some bleach solution down there if you want to clear out the rest and then reattach the drain line and turn the unit back on.

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OK, IGNORE everyone that says this is normal. IF you have water dripping out of a pipe on the outside of your house something is wrong.

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^^^
This is wrong.

It depends on the age of the house. My house, and my neighbors houses all have exterior drains. My condensate line attached to no house plumbing, it goes from the closet, through a wall separating a bedroom from another closet and drains next to my condensing unit.

Ours too. Installation was done in 2006.

Update:

I went to the attic and found both drain pans dry but it is still dripping outside.it also appears as though I have separate secondary drain lines. Should the pans be dry?

I also found where it appears to be tied back to the sewer line in the 2nd guest bathroom.



[This message has been edited by Aggie_eric98 (edited 8/12/2013 10:58p).]

You need to flush your primary lines before you do anything else.

Blow them out, then do the bleach trick (bleach kills algae growing in the pipe, which is the source of this type of clog 99.9% of the time).

If the drip does not stop after that, you need to chase that pipe and find out what it is and why it is dripping.

In case someone else reading this can't find the tie in under a sink, when this happened to me it was ultimately determined that the primary is tied into the bath tub drain in my upstairs bath. So, it is not always at a sink.

Is the drain pan being dry normal? I would have thought it would have been wet.

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ok, i just dont have access to a air compressor, i may be able to borrow one from my FIL

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A leaf blower will work.

Is it possible to have this set up:

Primary drain: Drains to the outside through the attic
Secondary drain: Drips into drain pan and drain pan also drains to the outside through the attic

1968 home single story home. Don't seen anything connecting into any of my sinks.

Shop vac will work too in blowing air.

~egon

I am going to try and post a picture but it appears if I blow air into the pvc it is going to view water back into the air handler. I put a little bleach into the pipe and I do not see the secondary pipe leading anymore.